Adventures With Oliver

After taking some time to heal from the loss of our 12 1/2 year old bulldog Winnie (❤), we have now welcomed Oliver into the family - upping the testosterone level in the house. We love Oliver (you will too) and we are patiently waiting for one of his testicles to drop, the teething to end (holy, puncture wounds on our hands!) and his brain to grasp how to pee and poop outside. Follow along for tons of updates & cuteness overload!

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On September 6, 2016 Oliver passed away at only 5 1/2 years old. He was diagnosed with Protein Losing Enteropathy in 2014 and we were able to keep him stable and very comfortable for a long time, all while visiting many hospitals (such as University of Penn, Garden State, Red Bank, NorthStar) and meeting with internists. Oliver lived a short but very happy and love-filled life. His decline came rapidly and suddenly and I truly believe Oliver didn’t want us to make a decision to let him go; he made it for us.

He was my world. His loss has devastated me and if you follow us on Instagram (@SherriRevolt), you know that I am still struggling with it all. At first, it hurt so much knowing how short his life was. We felt short-changed we didn’t have more time with him. Now, I realize that length of time doesn’t matter. The quality of it does. And he sure lived a BIG life in such a short amount of time.

I am begging you (whomever is reading this) to please follow me on Instagram for a special announcement. I have been working on a project (I began before Oliver’s passing without even knowing it was coming so soon). I am writing a book that will not only honor Oliver and everyone who has been in his (and our) life, but a portion of proceeds will go directly to help bulldogs in-need. Please find me on Instagram and help us remember and honor Oliver. I learned so much from him. It sounds silly, but it’s true.

I apologize for the late update. I couldn’t log in here for quite a while. There will soon be a website and social media accounts launched to promote my new adventure. And while my Adventures with Oliver have stopped in the physical world, he is guiding me on new adventures, spiritually. <3

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Time flies!

How odd that I haven't logged in here since Sept. 2013 - a year and one day, exactly! Oliver is almost 4 years old! He is a svelte 64 pounds (that is a joke & he is currently on a diet). He has become even weirder as time has gone on.

He is afraid of his reflection on our wood floors and now walks backwards to avoid seeing it. He is charming the Instagram world with his Moonwalking videos. We'd love it if you'd come follow Oliver's adventures there @sherrirevolt, where he is known as #oliverthemoonwalkingbulldog!

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My favorite curmudgeon!

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Even at the ripe ol' age of 2 years and 7 months old, Oliver still sleeps with one eye open.

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Trying to brush Oliver's teeth + a major battle = projectile puppy vomit going down the wall & one big, fat baby in a time out.

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I love this fat muffinhead!

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Bully Bash 2013.

On Saturday, we attended Bully Bash, an event that raises money for the MidAtlantic Bulldog Rescue. It was held at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park and what a great time we had! Over 150 bulldogs and 300 people attended.

We met up with Oliver's sister, Henrietta as well as Oliver's former "frenemy," Chunk. (They are finally great friends now that Oliver is bigger than Chunk. Ha!)

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Above is a picture of Chunk, with residual pumpkin stuck to his nose and some slight booger run-off. We love this boy so much.

Clearly, Oliver and Chunk are whispering to each other, hatching a master plan of some sorts. It probably involves food and butt scratches.

This is Bonnie. I'm pretty sure she didn't move from this spot all day.

Above is Henrietta, Oliver's sister. She is a tiny peanut compared to Oliver. She is super sweet and if it weren't for a few French Bulldogs in attendance, would have been the tiniest bully there.

New friends!

Oliver (and Chunk on the left) giving me the, "Hey, isn't it time for my afternoon snack" look.

Oliver (on the left) and Chunk taking a break from greeting EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON.

By far, this was the sweetest moment of the day. I don't care what anyone says; I firmly believe dogs know their siblings. Oliver would never, ever, ever just stand and lean against another dog. Yet, he did so with Henrietta. They just leaned against each other and chilled out for a bit. It made me smile. Henrietta and her family are moving to Florida in June and we will miss them all so much. <3

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Mr. Personality.

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Ahhhh!

To say that living in our home again is good would be an understatement. Oliver is in heaven and is so happy to have his fenced-in backyard where he can snooze in the sun without being tethered to my wrist. We both are thankful for that.

Aside from stepping in his own poop (again) today, Life is great for Oliver and for us. (Probably better for us since we don't step in our own poop.)

We're so happy, thankful and are loving Life in our "new" old house.

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Home.

After 107 days out of our home due to Hurricane Sandy, we finally moved back in this past Tuesday (February 12th). We weren't sure how Oliver would react considering every square inch of the house has been rebuilt, repaired, remodeled and redecorated. He hadn't been back to the house since the day we evacuated (October 29th).

When Oliver got out of the car and saw the house, he RAN like a lunatic to the front door, jumped inside, ran into each and every room - and then realized the changes and became a touch timid.

He slept well that first night and by the second day, he settled right in. He is so very happy to have his big, fenced-in backyard again. He spent a lot of time yesterday going in and out, lying in the sun out back.

This has been a long, exhausting, tiring, trying journey. It is one of the Top Three awful things we have had to deal with in our lives. For now, we are enjoying everything that is new, trying not to focus on what we've lost, and doing our best to look ahead to our Future.

All Oliver seems to care about is the fact that he now has a new bed in every room of the house.

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Oliver, the Mayor of our temporary 'hood. (still displaced since the Hurricane)

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We have now surpassed 10 weeks of being out of our home due to Hurricane Sandy. Oliver is still being a champ and progress is slowly being made at our house. (We now have walls & some floors again, so ... progress) We are excited to see how Oliver reacts going back into our house now that EVERYTHING floors, walls, kitchen cabinets, etc will all be different. He isn't a fan of "change" but he adjusts well. One day at a time. Or in Oliver's case, one nap at a time.

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I cannot say it enough: we are so lucky to have Oliver in our lives. Not only has he handled being displaced & living in a new environment because of Hurricane Sandy, he has also lifted the spirits of SO MANY people. In our new, temporary 'hood Oliver has made so many friends & has made so many people smile. While we're grateful to have a place to live, we still just want to be in our home again. Progress is being made but it is still so hard to drive through our beautiful, little, surrounded-by-water community & see the devastation. The world goes on, there are other things in the news now, media attention is slowly dying down - yet we are all essentially starting over.

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Chilliest dude ever at the vet's.

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Neighborhood watch.

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